Sander



Oct. 22, l w A. BALDWlN Y 2,409,728

SANDER Filed May 15, .1944

nventor Gttornegs Patented Oct. 22, .1946

.UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE p 'arcanes I SANDER Wayne A. Baldwin, Watertown, N. Y., assignor to The New York Air Brake Company, a. corporation of New Jersey Application May i5, 1944, serial No. 535,631

This invention relates to Sanders, particularly sanders foruse on locomotives.

Where sanders are mounted on the side of the boiler of a steam locomotive below the sand box it is sometimes necessary to provide distinct forms of sanders (i. e. rights and lefts) for the two sides of the locomotive.

One feature of the invention is the arrangement of the sander so that it can be assembled in two different ways and thus produce either a righthand sander or a lefthand sander.

Another feature of the invention is the use of a self-sustaining Venturi ejector assembly which may be mounted in the sander body in two different positions to effect the reversal above mentioned. The ejector assembly includes a sustaining tube having positive positioning means and a lateral port which cormnunicates with the sand chamber of the trap body. At the outlet end of this tube there is aV removably mounted Venturi throat'which is desirably formed of rubber and which may be variously dimensioned to suit particular conditions.' This interchangeable throat has va projecting end which performs a secondary function in that it serves as a sealing gasket. Also removably mountedin the tube is a nozzle assembly. This nozzle assembly has a removable tip which coordinates certain related factors, the size of the nozzle port, the character ofV an entrance strainer which protects the nozzle port, and a rim which encircles the nozzle port and controls the width of the entrance aperture through which sand reaches the Venturi throat. Thus it is possible to manufacture the nozzle tip in various sizes in which the dimension of all functionally related parts are coordinated.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which Figure l is an elevation of the trap as it would appear on the righthand side of the locomotive boiler with the air supply connection toward the cab, that is toward the rear end of the locomotive,

lthe sand discharging connection leading forward from the tra-p.

Figure 2 is a vertical section on the medial plane of the trap.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3--3 of Figure 2.

The body of the trap is made up of two parts, the body proper 6 which is open at the front, and the cap 1 which is connected to the body 6 by studs and nuts 8, and serves to close the open front of the body.

Sand supply pipe 9 is threaded into the upper 2 Claims. (Cl. 291-11) portion of the body 6 and delivers sand flowing from the sand box (not. shown) to the interior of the trap body E. `The sand ows beneath a depending barrier II which serves to limit the height to which sand will rise in the body 6 by gravity flow. The cover 1 is formed with a passage I2 through which stirring air is drawn into the trap from the atmosphere. The entrance flow of air is caused by the ejector action which draws sand and air from the trap.

Entering air flows from `the passage I2 into a stirring tube I3 which is pressed into a porton the inner face of the cover 1. The tube I3 has at its top a narrow longitudinal slot I4. The air thus flows partly through the slot I4 and agitates the sand so that the sand is carried at a proper rate to the Venturi throat.

To limit the stirring action to the proper ntensityIby-pass port I5 leads from the passage I2 to the space within the trap above the level of the sand. Increase in the size of the port I5 diminishes the effectiveness of the stirring action.

The body 6 is formed with two similar tubular extensions I6 and I1. These are aligned with one another as best shown in Figure 3 andreceive the nozzle assembly which may be inserted from either end.

This assembly is housed in and sustained by a tube II8 which is encircled by aligning ribs dimensioned to t the bore of members I6, I1. The tube I8 has a positioning flange I9 arranged to er1-gage the end of extension I6 or I1 as the case may be. Near the flange the tube I8 is provided with a positioning pin 2| which engages one of the notches 22 or 23 formed in the extensions IB and I1 respectively. The purpose of the positioning pin 2| is to assure that a lateral port 24 formed in the tube I8 is presented downwardly. This port 24 then communicates with the chamber within the body 6.

Threaded into the entrance end of the tube lI8 is a nozzle tube 25 into the outer end of which the air supply pipe 26 is threaded after the sand trap has been mounted on the locomotive." A nozzle tip generally indicated by the numeral 21 is threaded into the inner end of the nozzle tube 25. This has a jet nozzle port 28 surrounded by a rim 29. At its rear it has a tubular extension 3| which Vis cross-drilled as indicated at 32 to serve as a strainer. The cross-drilled ports 32 are smaller than the jet nozzle passage 28 and so protect it against clogging. A removable plug 33 closes the rear end of the tip unit and may be removed on occasion.

Mounted in an annular seat formed in the discharge end of tube I8 is a Venturi throat 34 preferably formed of rubberlike material and shaped to project beyond the annular nut 35 Which clamps it in its seat.

There is a union fitting 36 which seats against the end of extension I1 (when the parts are assembled as shown in Figure 3) and is held by a union nut 31. The tting 36 also seats against the end of the Venturi throat 34, which thus functions as a gasket to produce a tight seal. A union nut 38 identical with nut 31 is shown threaded on the end of extension I6. Sand discharge pipe 39 is connected to the tting 3E and leads to the rail.

It Will be apparent that the tube I8 positions the nozzle and the Venturi throat and thus forms a complete self-sustaining unit. This unit may be inserted into the aligned bores of extensions I6 and I'I from the left as shown in Figure 3, or it may be inserted from the right. In the latter case the nuts 31 and 38 are interchanged, the nut 38 engaging the tube I8, and the nut 31 the union tting 36. In this Way the trap may be assembled as either a righthand or a lefthand trap prior to the connection of the pipes 26 and 39.

Removal of the cover plate 'I gives access to the trap chamber and withdraws the stirring nozzle I3. No claim is here made to this detail which is the invention of another. rIhe disconnection of pipe 26 and release of nut 38 permits the removal of the tube I8 with all the ejector parts. After such removal these parts may be removed individually from the tube I8 and cleaned or replaced as occasion may demand.

This makes it possible to associate any desiredtype of nozzle with any desired type of Venturi throat.

Since the nozzle tip 21 is interchangeable, the imple interchange of tips controls the coordination of the size of the strainer ports 32 with the jet nozzle port 28. The height of rim 29 can be chosen to control the sand entrance passage to the Venturi throat.

While one embodiment of the invention has 4 been described in considerable detail this represents merely the best known embodiment of the invention and is intended to be illustrative and not limiting.

.What is claimed is:

1. In a sand trap, the combination of a body having a sand-inlet connection, a sand-retaining chamber to which said connection leads and an open-ended transverse passage intersecting said chamber; an ejector assembly insertable into said passage in relatively reverse positions from respective ends thereof, said assembly comprising a jet nozzle with air supply connections, and a Venturi throat of rubber-like material and a sustaining sleeve serving to position said nozzle and throat in iixed coactive relation and so that the end of the throat is exposed at the end of the sleeve; a sand-discharge connection; and means operable interchangeably to connect the air supply end of the assembly to the body, and to connect the sand discharge connection to the body and seal it against the exposed end of the Venturi throat.

2. In a sand trap, the combination of a body having a sand-inlet connection, a sand-retaining chamber to which said connection leads and an open-ended transverse passage intersecting said chamber; an ejector assembly insertible into said passage in relatively reverse positions from respective ends thereof, said assembly comprising a tube having positioning means to engage the body and position the tube when the tube is inserted in either direction into said passage and a lateral port then so located as to communicate with said chamber, a combined jet nozzle and strainer removably mounted in'one end of said tube and terminating adjacent said port, and a Venturi throat removably mounted in the other end of said tube beyond said port; a sand discharge connection; and two threaded connectors, one associated with each end of said passage, and either adapted to x said tube in the body While the other connects the sand discharge connection with the Venturi throat.

. WAYNE A. BALDWIN. 

